I am Paul Kocken, Associate Professor of Behavior Change at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam. My main area of experience is methods of health behavior change and epidemiology, focusing primarily on behavior change research and the application of scientific research methods in practice settings.
My background is in public health. I previously worked as research scientist in health and youth care practice at the Municipal Health Service GGD Rotterdam and Dutch center for innovation and applied research TNO. My research and teaching activities are in the field of public health consequences of unhealthy behaviors and the development and assessment of effective behavior change interventions and policies. Currently, I coordinate the courses Health Psychology & Behavior Change and Professional Skills in the master’s track Health Psychology & Digital Interventions. I use scientific research methods in practice settings to accelerate behavior change and reduce health disparities. My main research interests are: 1. The systematic development of systems and educational interventions to change health behaviors, 2. Epidemiological and health services research, 3. Application of behavioral insights for policy making and equity. My projects are with many stakeholders, such as municipalities, citizens, care organizations and universities. Currently, I am working closely together with policy makers and researchers from Rotterdam Municipality in the collaborative expert center behavioral research and development Healthy’R (https://healthyr.nl/).